If you want to be a teacher, these days you attend classes alone.
K-12 education programs are under-enrolling as pandemic-era policies, hybrid learning, and emotional conflicts fuel a nationwide teacher shortage.
According to the American Association of Teacher Training Colleges, the number of young people completing teacher training programs decreased by 30% between the 2010-2011 school year and the 2019-2020 school year. A fall 2021 survey of the association’s member schools found that 55% said new undergraduate enrollments had fallen further as COVID-19 restrictions were extended into last year.
AACTE consultant Jacqueline E. King said:
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 300,000 teachers and staff have left their jobs between February 2020 and May 2022.
The number of students enrolled in teacher training programs, even if stable this fall, will not be enough to make up for the number of students who have left, and we won’t know until the state reports that number, the education group said. says.
SEE ALSO: K-12 schools fill educational voids with classroom assistants, virtual lessons, and military veterans
Paul Geddiman, executive director of marketing and promotion at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University, says the current model of public education doesn’t work.
“Teachers are expected to manage classrooms of 30 or more students, be role models, social workers, data analysts, trauma intervention specialists, and many other roles,” Gediman said. I’m here. “In short, it’s a recipe for burnout and exhaustion.”
Some institutions are already seeing enrollment declines for the fall semester, but most schools haven’t finished counting.
In Phoenix, teacher training enrollment at Grand Canyon University used to increase, but has been “relatively flat” over the past two years. The school’s strong interest in his program online has prevented further decline, spokesman Bob Bromantic said. This year’s enrollment is down by just seven new students from last year.
Mr Romantic said:
Enrollments are declining nationally, but some online programs are seeing an increase in new students.
SEE ALSO: K-12 schools scramble for teachers weeks before classes start due to COVID burnout
This is due to existing teachers seeking graduate degrees to earn better salaries and young people avoiding the federal student loan debt required to attend residential campuses. It’s one.
Western Governors University in Utah and Indianapolis-based American College of Education (an online education program) both have increased enrollments.
According to Mike Cook, director of marketing operations at ACE, enrollment in master’s and doctoral programs is already up 20 percent from last year.
“We attribute a lot of that to our affordable and flexible online programs,” Cook said, noting that low teacher wages drive some students to save money.
After two years of pandemic-related trauma, former elementary school teacher Laura Lynn Knight says it will take more than money for educators to enjoy their jobs again.
“As a mother and an educator, I hope that we continue to see as much social and emotional support as possible for our teachers and students,” said Knight, an Arizona-based parenting coach.
